what is the difference between painting and polishing?

Answer 1

Painting means you're applying a color-dyed synthetic chemical to an object in order to change the color. Polishing means to rub, buff, or coat the object with a chemical (usually oil-based) in order to enhance or reveal the existing color to give it a nice sheen.

Unless you're talking about nail polish. Nail polish should probably be referred to as nail paint. The "polish" used in nail polish is a type of acrylic glaze -- a clear coating that is blended into the paint to give it a shiny appearance.